The Metamorphosis of a Sick Narrative
Hello, my brother, you have been scarce. I suppose you travelled. Which of the two destinations did you travel to? Two destinations? What are they?
Need you ask? For most Nigerian politicians seeking relevance both now and in the future, there have been a swarm to either Oghara or London. Oghara and London? What is the connect?
Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Are you not aware that the great man of Delta politics, Chief James Onanefe Ibori imprisoned by UK authorities is back and he is hibernating in his hearth, Oghara, Delta State, while the great man of Nigerian politics, President Muhammadu Buhari is held up in London? Are you not aware that these two destinations have been playing host to many Nigerians in the last three weeks? Why should I waste my time going to London to visit a hale and hearty man who just went on 10-day holiday but decided to extend it ad infinitum?
Why are you talking like that? You mean you have not been praying for the quick recovery of our president?
Were you told that he is/was sick? Were we not told that Mr President is going on his annual vacation for just ten days and that while he is resting, he will just undertake routine checks with his doctor and that there is nothing to worry about? Did they not deny that the president was not going for medical vacation but just mere holiday? Did the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and the Information minister, Lai Mohammed not declare that the President is “hale and hearty”? So why should we be fasting and praying for a “hale and hearty” man enjoying the British autumn weather? Did Shehu Garba, one of the president’s spokesmen, not declare that the President was fine and was even home sick and would be back home sooner than later?
Didn’t they all create the impression that nothing was amiss?
Don’t forget they are to say only what they are permitted to say. Remember they are not the principal themselves, but the principal’s subordinate.
What kind of argument is that? Should subordinates not have the courage to tell the truth or keep their lips sealed? Look, we are talking about the health of the number one citizen in the most populous black nation in the world. Why can’t there be transparency about it?
Indeed, if the president had been able to return after the initial ten days, there would have been a strong denial that he was ever sick by his handlers.
Look, Mr President is a human being, just like you and me. Yes, he has immunity from court litigation while in office, but he is not immune from sickness. So, like all mortals, he can take ill at any time.
Nobody is arguing about that. He is as vulnerable like any other human. But as a public votary, there is a limit to which his so-called private issues will remain private. To cover up the sickness of Mr President is to suggest that he is superhuman. He is not. So if he is ill, he should say so and not dance around the bush.
But he was the same person who formally wrote the Senate to say he has some medical tests to take, hence he is unable to return after the initial ten days. He then wrote again to say the results of some of the medical tests he had taken demand that he rests a little longer in the UK than he had envisaged. Is that not transparent enough?
You don’t get the point. There is no total disclosure. It is piecemeal information. Nigerians need to know what is wrong with their president. Not just saying he is taking some tests and the results thereof demand longer rest period. For God’s sake, what kinds of tests have the president taken? Just what is wrong with Mr President? We need to know. He is 74 or so. It is normal for a man of such age to get weak and have troubling ailments. We should know. But there are older people in power. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe just had his 93rd birthday in office. He does not hide his sickness. He is also African!
I don’t think Mr President has really hoarded information about his health. When he had ear problem, he announced it and went for treatment. When his body chemistry gave him sign that he needs some rest and medical check, he said so. What’s more, he not only transmitted relevant letter to the National Assembly, he handed over power to his Vice, who has been carrying on the business of government. And I think, that is a refreshing difference from the previous ugly experience we had under the late President Musa Yar’Adua.
Do you know the visit of politicians to London to see Mr President, not the Queen, is just to dispel the strong rumour that he has passed on? Is that not why there is serious effort, by those visiting, to take photographs with the president to reassure Nigerians that he is not dead? Did the pictures not show a very lean President Muhammadu Buhari, thus betraying the seriousness of the hidden sickness? And is that not why many Nigerians are demanding that he should speak to them live, to be sure he is not merely photo-morphed in those visits? The nugget of information being miserly pitched in has turned many Nigerians to present day Thomas. Thus far, it has developed from just looking in to see his doctor to being literally detained medically in the UK , for an undisclosed sickness and for a period no one can determine. In all, the metamorphosis of the sick narrative has heightened the curiousity of Nigerians.
Ok. Now that the whole truth is inadvertently popping out, will you join the band of prayerful Nigerians interceding for the quick recovery of Mr President? Sure, I will.